Sweet pay-off time for MSES students

Marion Springs Elementary School celebrated the awards it received for the 2004 Kansas State Assessment exams on Friday.

MSES received three awards for the Kansas Standard of Excellence. That brings the MSES total to nine awards in the five years it has been going on.

"We have a very strong parental base here," said Margie Gaston, MSES READ consultant. "The parents and teachers help each child develop to their potential at home and at school. We also have the advantage of working with the children in smaller groups."

On Friday morning, many MSES teachers and staff traveled to Baldwin Junior High School to recognize a group of 12 sixth-graders.

"I think they were proud of themselves," MSES secretary Glenda Rockers said. "They were proud of their accomplishment."

The students were fifth-graders at Marion Springs Elementary School last year when they took the tests. They received two certificates for the standard of excellence in fifth-grade reading and fifth-grade writing.

Gaston said the standard of excellence was a group effort by all of the children.

"The standard of excellence is like a blue ribbon of excellence," Gaston said. "It was one of their goals all year. They did it as a team. They worked very hard without complaints to improve ."

For their success, the students were taken out of class on Friday morning for a short ceremony.

The students each received a certificate acknowledging their success, a t-shirt and a large Hershey candy bar. They also had donuts and juice afterwards.

On Friday afternoon, the current fifth-graders at Marion Springs were also awarded for their success. They celebrated with an all-school ice cream party at MSES that afternoon. They received excellence in the fourth-grade mathematics in last year's exams.

Gaston said this year's students are trying hard to maintain the level of success that last year's students had.

"We're trying to maintain that same level of excellence every year," Gaston said. "They are working hard toward that this year."